"Stanier was big in stature and in mind ..." This brief quotation
from Cox's Locomotive panorama v. 1
gives some indication of a man whose greatness lay in his powers of
self-criticism and willingness to express his debt to others work.
Lowe noted that Stanier's task of great
magnitude required "both tact and strong leadership. Stanier had both".

Stanier has been well served by biographers, although no single work
does him full justice. The most important works are
Cox's Locomotive panorama, plus E.S.
Cox's and K.J. Cook's obituaries presented
to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers
(Jounal No. 305),
Hartley's Royal Society obituary,
Bulleid's "Master builders of
steam , Bellwood and Jenkinson's
assessment of Gresley and Stanier,
Nock's "Sir William Stanier
now largely superceded by Chacksfield's
Sir William Stanier aptly sub-titled "new biography".Locomotive panorama (v. 1) is the most exhaustive account of
Stanier's design work. It also shows his personal qualities as viewed by
a subordinate. Hartley's obituary is, perhaps, a more intimate account as
it is written from the viewpoint of a colleague (Sir Harold Hartley was in
charge of research activities on the LMS) who was instrumental in attracting
Stanier away from Swindon. Much of the material in H.A.V .Bulleid's book
has clearly come from his father's (O.V.S. Bulleid) memories, but it needs
to be stressed is still essential reading (for instance it tells us that
Bill's favourite authors were Kipling and Nevil Shute plus much more). Nock's
personal knowledge is of a lesser order and he tends to concentrate on Stanier's
locomotives with emphasis on performance. Extensive verbatim quotations from
Stanier's papers form a major feature of the work. Chacksfield was well-received,
but like its companion biographies of Fowler and Collett suffers from a lack
of a thorough examination of the subjects' published work. Nevertheless,
with all these volumes it is probable that no remaining personal material
relating to the subject remains unexplored, and Chacksfield is successful
in capturing the nature of the man. There were also appreciations by
Cook and
Cox in J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1965,
55, 247 et seq following his death.
Terry Jenkins Sir Ernest
Lemon adds considerably to the convoluted story of his recruitment
from the GWR, a little to the rather hectic public test runs of his Pacifics
when Lemon was in attendance, something to other forms of traction developed
during Stanier's tenure by Horbuckle and Fairburn, but there is no mention
of the turbine locomotive, nor of the major boiler problem in Jenkins' otherwise
masterly book.

Bellwood and Jenkinson's Gresley
and Stanier should not be overlooked as Bellwood was a fully trained
Locomotive Engineer. They succinctly observe that unlike Gresley: "Stanier
was not really an inventor. Unlike Gresley, no patents stand to his name
and his real strength lay in a knowledge of current techniques and an ability
to put them into practice to give the best return, taking all factors into
account".

Stanier's papers are of a great importance due to his self-critical
approach. They cover a wide area of study which included materials, testing
and design. After retirement he continued to attend meetings of the Locomotive
Engineers and his comments on papers tended to be kind. He often reminisced
about his own work, whilst he never forgot his debt to
Churchward, as shown by his Newcomen Society
addressthis paper is of great importance in that reveals much about
the author. By the time it was written Stanier was retired, and whilst
his earlier professional papers were probably written with a great deal of
assistance from his subordinates (this is common practice in all industries),
it is likely that his contribution on Churchward was written solely by his
own effort. Reference should also be made to the more extensive (in time)
bibliography contained in Hartley's obituary. Examination of the early
Transactions of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers showed that Stanier's
witty, easy style during discussion sessions was evident as early as 1913:
see his penetrating remarks following a paper by Lawford
Fry..

Patents418,428. Improvements in or relating to the bodies of railway passenger
carriages, and similar vehicles.with John Purves and Paul Lewis
Henderson. Applied 28 May 1934. Published 24 October 1934.441,661An electro-magnetically operated slide valve, in a sealed
chest, having no external moving parts, for controlling the flow of steam
or other gases under pressure with George Vickers and Frederick William
Hicklenton. Applied 18 February 1935. Published 23 January 1936.481,115Improvements in and connected with shunting humps for railway
sidings with Thomas Frederick Bell Simpson. Applied 4 September 1936.
Published 4 March 1938.490,076. Improvements in cable haulage appliances for moving railway
vehicles with William Alexander Lyall. Applied 5 April 1937. Published
9 August 1938.490,967Improvements in and connected with portable lifting jacks
with Paul Lewis Henderson. Applied 25 June 1937. Published 24 August
1938.492,197Improvements in and connected with signal control arrangements
for railway depots and the like with Frederick Stanton Barnes and Paul
Lewis Henderson. Applied 3 April 1937. Published 16 September 1938553,542. Improvements in or appertaining to riveting hammers wiith
Herbert Greaves and George Thomas Smithyman. Applied 21 Novcember 1941.
Published 26 May 1943.

The development and testing of locomotives.Engineering, 1936,
142, 305-8. illus., 9 diagrs., table.Abridgement of a paper presented to the British Association (Section
G) at Blackpool on 1936-09-11..The following appeared in the Locomotive
Magazine.
At the Conference of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
held last month at Blackpool, Mr. W. A. Stanier, chief mechanical engineer
of the L.M.S. Rly., read a paper on "The Development and Testing of Locomotives,"
and the following abstract will be read with considerable interest by engineers
m this country and abroad.
Until comparatively recently the facilities for testing locomotives in service
have been of a very simple form, and it has been difficult to get reliable
data on the working of the engine and the boiler, as well as the numerous
accessories which are developed and offered for trial.
It is, moreover, somewhat difficult to arrange a series of tests on the running
lines without causing inconvenience to the working. Such work is usually
carried out on. an ordinary booked train, but occasionally it is possible
to arrange a special trial on a Sunday when the line is less occupied. As
a result of this, it has not been possible until recent years for the locomotive
engineer to set out a predetermined programme of trials which would have
possibly in the infancy of locomotive design, led to a much more rapid
development, such as has been the case with the internal combustion engine
and which has resulted in rapid development and its general application to
motor cars and aeroplanes.
Probably the first vehicle used for experimental work on the English railways
was a broad gauge 4-wheeled van which about 1879 was converted to narrow
gauge, and fitted up as a measuring van on the Great Western Railway. It
was fitted with a fifth wheel, which could be raised and lowered, with suitable
mechanism and which worked a series of counters indicating the distance travelled
in miles and fractions of a mile. The introduction of this car is generally
attributed to Sir Daniel Gooch.
The dynamometer spring and a recording mechanism with paper drive were added.
In 1900 a new 8-wheeled car was built by the G.W.R. and fitted with the extra
wheel and the mileage dials, and clock from the old car with mechanism to
provide a recording apparatus. The extra wheel is fitted with a hardened
tyre accurately ground to a diameter so that it makes exactly 440 revs. per
mile, and as it is only in use when a test is being made it maintams its
accuracy for long periods.. It drives through suitable mechanism, the mileage
indications and the paper drums for the recording table. The paper travels
at 1 ft. or 2 ft. per car mile depending on which gear is engaged.
A new spring was fitted to which the drawbar at the live end of the car was
connected. This spring consists of a number of plates about 7 ft. 6 in. long
separated from each other. !hey are held in the centre with a buckle to which
is attached the drawbar, and the ends are in bearers which bear against
brackets on the under frame of the car. All contact points are carried on
rollers so that friction is reduced to the smallest factor.
The drawbar itself is also carried on rollers. An arm from the spring buckle
extends to the recording table and carries a pen which draws a curve on the
paper as it passes across the table.
Another instrument fitted is an integrator which consists of a disc which
is revolved by suitable gearing connected to the ninth wheel and makes a
number of revolutions proportional to the speed of the train. A small vertical
roller is in contact with this disc, and it can be moved across the disc
by means of an arm connected to the spring buckle, and is so adjusted that
when there is no pull on the drawbar, the roller is in the centre of the
disc and does not revolve. With the slightest pull from the centre the roller
revolves, and as it has an armature on its spindle with an electric contact,
it can be used to operate a pen and an electric counter on the recording
table, and since the revolutions of the disc are proportional to the distance
run by the train and the distance of the roller from the centre of the disc
depends on the drawbar pull, the revolutions of the roller will be a measure
of the product of the distance run and the average drawbar pull, that is,
of the work done. The gearing is so arranged that each revolution of the
roller represents 330,000 ft. lb. of work so that by multiplying the record
on the counter for one minute by 10 the mean drawbar horsepower at any minute
can be directly obtained.
The horsepower can also be obtained at any point on the record since it is
equal to the pull in tons multiplied by the speed in miles per hour and by
5.97, as per example:-
Ton M.p.h.
1 x 60 x 5.97 = 358.2 D.H.P.
1 x 60 x 528Ø x 224Ø = 358.2 D.H.P
. 330ØØx 60
The table is equipped with pens operated electro-magnetically for the following
records:-
1. Datum line.
2. Drawbar pull direct through spring.
3. Work done from Integrator.
4. Speed from clock recording 2 sec. marks.
5. Engine working from observer on footplate.
6. Point at which indicator cards are taken from staff at front of engine.
7. Location from observer of mile posts.
Then when brake tests are being made:-
8. Movement of brake handle on engine to apply brake.
9. Moment at which the brake is fully applied on any vehicle in train.
Some cars are fitted with additional instrurnents such as an ergometer, which
is a combination of the inertia dynamometer (pendulum and the integrating
roller). The tangent of the angle which the pendulum makes with its central
position is proportional to the algebraic sum of the force of gravity (plus
or minus) and the force producing change of velocity. .The integratmg roller
multiplies this force by distance, and the result is shown on the paper as
.an inclined plane. The change in ordinate of this time represents the change
in the algebraic sum of potential and kinetic energy per ton of the train.
When coasting free, the loss of energy recorded is due to train resistance,
and is, therefore, a direct indication of it.
A dynamometer car will be of little use unless some reliance can be placed
on the records obtained, and it is necessary to provide means to check readily
the accuracy of the drawbar spnng. On the L.M.S. a simple weighing machine
has been devised by which the .spring can be calibrated in position. The
machine consists of a frame which can be bolted to the headstock of the
dynamometer car with its outer extremity carried on a trestle, the frame
being packed up so as to be truly level.
The frame carries bearings for accommodating the knife edges which form the
fixed fulcrum of a long lever. This lever is also provided wiIth another
pair of knife edges, which are connected through suitable links to the drawgear.
On the top of the lever a portion is machined flat on which a spirit level
is placed! and when level both pairs of knife edges are m the same vertical
plane. The ratio. of the lever arm to the distance between the knife edges
is exactly 40 to 1, so that 56 lb. placed on the scale pan produces
a load of 1 ton on the drawbar
To eliminate the weight of the lever arm and scale pan the further extremity
is carried in a spring balance suspended from a hook overhead; this is so
adjusted that when there is no pull on the drawbar the spring balance hol
ds the lever truly horizontal. Whatever load is appIied, provided the lever
is in the honzontal position, the upward force due to the spring balance
will remain constant and equal to the downward force due to the weight of
the lever and scale pan,. hence no deduction need be made for the weight.
An actual test shows that the drawgear can be maintained within 1 per cent.
of accuracy. The gear is always checked in this way before a test is to be
made.
In this country before the grouping of the railways the L.N.W., the L. &
Y., and the G.N. all built similar dynamometer cars. On the Continent there
are a number of cars which make similar records but which have modification
in detail. Some of the most complete are the cars attached to the Vitry Testing
Station in France. These are fitted with Amsler tables and hydraulic cylinders
for absorbing the drawbar reactions. Means are also provided so that an
examination of the flue gases can be made. An inspirator is fitted in the
car so that the flue gases can be drawn through suitable piping back to the
car, where an analysis can be made of the gases to determine the
CO2, CO., etc.
The L.M.S. car is fitted with an indicator for checking the amount of water
fed into the boiler and also the quantity of water replaced in the tender;
this permitting the evaporation of the boiler to be obtained.
The coal is weighed on the tender and at the end of a trip the amount left
is weighed. The old method of quoting coal consumption for locomotive performance
was on the basis of "pounds of coal consumed per ton mile" and due to varying
climatic conditions, loading, etc., it was necessary for extensive tests
to be carried out to obtain a representative average figure. Since the advent
of the dynamometer car, it is now possible to obtain quite accurate coal
con- sumption figures, but on the basis of actual work performed, i.e., "pounds
of coal per drawbar horse-power hour," and due to the fact that this coal
consumption is based on the actual output performance of the locomotive,
it is only neces- sary to make a comparatively few runs to obtain the information
required.
With the high pressure boilers now in service, a large number of which are
working at 225 and others at 250 lb. pressure, it is very necessary to have
the most efficient steam distribution to ensure economical working and by
fitting the locomotive with suitable gear, indicator cards can be obtained
which provide a clear analysis of the steam distribution and a thorough
investigation can be quickly carried out to determine whether the engine
motion is actually functioning to give the most economical results.
The method followed when indicating the steam distribution is to take out
a train up to the maximum load suitable for the locomotive, the dynamometer
car being marshalled between the engine and train, and the train worked at
varying speeds and at each speed varying cut offs with full regulator opening.
Under such conditions a complete range of indicator cards are taken. These
indicator cards provide a thorough check of the steam distribution for all
positions of valve gear and speeds and adjustments to the valve gear may
be made if desirable. An interesting investigation was carried out with an
express 4-6-0 locomotive comprising a series of dynamometer car tests at
different periods of the life of the engine, i.e., just before and just after
piston and valve examinations and service repairs. From results obtained
during these tests, the erliciency of the engine and boiler deteriorated
at a very slow rate, and it was found that the maximum increase in coal
consumption per drawbar horse-power was about 8 per cent. higher than when
new. The boiler efficiency showed very little depreciation although the steaming
properties were not so good when getting towards the next general repair.
A very important item in connection with the operation of railways is to
determine the best position for placing the signals controlling the working
of trains, so that the enginemen will have sufficient time to have complete
control of the train and be able to stop within the home signal, and it is
necessary to ascertain the stopping distance of trains of varying weights
at different speeds. With the gradual increase in the weights and lengths
of trains, this factor is of utmost importance, and various combinations
of locomotives and passenger trains and the stopping distances for these
trains over a range of gradually increasing speeds up to 95 m.p.h, were shown
and a comparison of the standard vacuum brake gear, as compared with the
standard vacuum brake gear with the addition of a direct admission valve,
which is fitted to each vacuum cylinder so that the slightest admission of
air in the train pipe automatically opens each D.A. valve to air. When the
tests for these brake trials were in hand, in addition to the dynamometer
car, each train was provided with vacuum recorders at the front, middle and
rear of the train so that the rate of propagation of the brake down the train
could be analysed, and an observer noted the con- dition of the stop, i.e.,
whether rough or smooth, as it is obviously not a commercial undertaking
to produce stops which would result in damage to the track and discomfort
to the passengers. The tests themselves were carried out during the week-end
when a clear line for running purposes could be obtained over certain sections,
and to permit of a straight comparison being made, all the stopping distances
obtained were carefully equated to the stopping distances on the level, i.e.,
the effect of either a rising or falling gradient was eliminated. All the
stops in question were what are known as emergency stops, the engine- men
closing the regulator at a predetermined speed and immediately applying the
brake fully so that the maximum brake power was available as soon as possible
throughout the
train. Probably one of the most important decisions that had to be made on
the amalgamation of the constituent railways of the L.M.S. in January 1923
was to decide on the types of locomotives which should be adopted as standard
and conversely the older and less economical types which should be scrapped.
Investigations were put in hand and various classes of engines thoroughly
tried out with the dynamometer car, and as a result certain locomotives were
adopted as standard types and were built as a type replacing obsolete classes.
At the same time, to meet the requirements of the operating department, other
more modern types were built as and when neces- sary, and at the end of 1937
as a result of the continuation of this policy the reduction in total steam
locomotive stock, it is estimated, will be 27 per cent. and the reduction
of the types 63 per cent.
Another sphere of investigation in which the dynamometer car has been of
great value is in the carrying out of coal consumption tests on the basis
of pounds burned per unit of work performed when using different qualities
of coal for exactly similar loads and timings. The results obtained show
that a variation occurs of about 38 per cent. between the best quality of
coal compared with the worst. In addition, observations taken clearly identify
the coals which produced bad clinkering on the fire-bars resulting in indifferent
steaming. Constant Speed "Method of Testing Locomotives." A method of testing
locomotives has been devised on the Continent, which consists of haul- ing
trains of known weights at predetermined speeds, regulator opening valve
gear, cut-off, etc., which enables the constant rate of combustion and steam
consumption to be achieved and thereby a comparative figure of actual consumption
per drawbar horse power hour can be obtained.
Such data when obtained from various types of locomotives enables a very
close comparison to be made of the efficiencies and engine performance. To
enable the foregoing conditions to be worked to, the train usually consists
of the engine under test, the dynamometer car, and an auxiliary locomotive.
The function of the auxiliary locomotive is to maintain the constant speed
of the train, and the driver of this locomotive is responsible for this and
if the train exceeds the set speed he must apply the brakes which are usually
of the counter pressure brake type, in addition to the train brakes, or on
the other hand if the engine tends to reduce speed due to climbing a rising
gradient the auxiliary locomo- tive must be immediately opened out to maintain
the predetermined speed. The driver of the auxiliary locomotive is provided
with a speed re- corder which enables him to check carefully the actual speed
of the train.
It will be recognised from the foregoing that this method of testing is
practically identical with a stationary test plant in so far as the engine
working is maintained under constant conditions, but it also has the practical
advantage of includ- ing in the test the effect of wind resistance and radiation
losses so far as the locomotive is con- cerned.
The tests carried out on the L.M.S.R. will form the basis of a more intensive
research into causes that prevent a higher efficiency from being obtained,
but it must be borne in mind that railway research, as a rule, is very slow
on account of the great variety of conditions that arise in the operation
of a train service. It can seldom be reproduced on a small scale in a laboratory
and not always as a full scale test on a locomotive stationary testing plant,
but must generally be tried out in actual service, which takes time and
necessitates the consideration of many variables, and how they may affect
the results.
As an instance of the importance of the application of engine performance
data to assist in solving problems for the Operating Department such as the
possibility of running express trains at higher average speeds, a trial run
between Euston and Crewe gave varying average speeds of 60 to 76 m.p.h.,
and from Euston to Liverpool at average speeds varying from 60 to 74 m.p.h.
The following speed restrictions are imposed:- Rugby, 35 m.p.h.; Polesworth,
45 m.p.h. ; Stafford, 30 m.p.h. ; Crewe, 20 m.p.h. The effect of these speed
restrictions is very pronounced in that, to maintain the higher average speeds
quoted, maximum running speeds for short periods of 100 m.p.h. on the
Euston-Rugby Section, and 98 m.p.h. on the Rugby-Liverpool Section must be
attained. The possibility of running a passenger train at such high speeds
calls for careful investigation with regard to the capacity of the locomotive,
and would probably mean a severe reduction in the weight of the train hauled.
This particular problem illustrates the value of the very close co-ordination
which exists between the Operating- and Engineering Departments of the railways
of this country.

Engine lubrication (reciprocation steam engines).
Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs,,
1937, 136, 139-43.Modern French locomotives are fitted with four rings per piston head,
the German with five, while the English railways favour two or three, but
experiments are now being carried out in this country with an increased number
of rings. Piston ring wear varies considerably according to the class of
locomotive and the type of work on which it is engaged. For express passenger
compound engines Chatel gives mileages of 12,500-25,000 for the high-pressure
cylinders and 28,000- 37,500 miles for the low-pressure cylinders, at which
the rings are replaced. On one English railway the piston rings of a
three-cylinder (simple-expansion) locomotive are changed at 40,000-45,000
miles.
Engine lubrication (reciprocating engines) [in]:INSTITUTION of Mechanical Engineers.Proceedings of the general discussion on lubrication & lubricants.
v. 1. London, Institution of Mechanical Enginers, [1938].See pp. 614-18, plus pp. 619-48 for the discussion.

The heat-treatment of locomotive parts.
Proc. Instn mech. Engrs,
1929, 117, 1069-73. 10 illus., diagr.At Swindon it was the practice to treat all steel stampings and forgings
so that the structure of each part was in the best condition to resist the
strains and stresses to which it would be subject in service.

A pageant of railroad engineering.
Proc. Instn mech. Engrs, 1928,
114, 495-8.Impressions of United States locomotives gained when Stanier accompanied
a King class locomotive to the Baltimore & Ohio Centenary
celebrations: Address delivered at Western Branch in Bristol on 8th December
1927..

The position of the locomotive in mechanical engineering. Proc. Instn
mech. Engrs, 1941, 146, 50-61 + 4 plates. 13 illus., diagr., 3
tables. (Presidential Address). A review of the efficiency of the steam locomotive, based on L.M.S.
testing plus a forecast of future development

Problems connected with locomotive design.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1939,
29, 13-33 + 6 folding plates. 2 illus., 13 diagrs. (Presidential
Address).Much of the Paper was devoted to the locomotive as a vehicle (reflecting
Stanier's involvement in the Indian Pacific Locomotive Committee, chaired
by Lt. Col. Alan Mount). Many of the figures (and much of the text) related
to his own designs for the LMS. Fig.1 shows spring control for bogies; Fig.
2 showed the reae pony truck employed on LMS Pacifics; Fig. 3 showed the
thick flanges employed on the bogies and trailing trucks of LMS Pacifics;
Fig. 4 showed coupled axlebox design; a table showed the axle bearing pressures
(driving, and bogie or radial) of the Coronation class Pacifics, 8F, Jubilee
and class 5. Dust shields were mentioned. Drop grates and hopper ashpans
were described with diagrams. There are diagrams of a Duchess Pacific with
a single chimney, but Fig. 12 also illustrated the double chimney arrangement.
The reversing shaft mechanism for the Pacifics was also discussed. Internal
streamlining forms one of the actual sub-headings adopted and the work of
Chapelon as cited. Stanier noted how a test apparatus had been designed to
test flow through steam ports and passages. The Vote of Thanks (pp. 33-4)
was made by Kitson Clark and in his final comments Stanier
(pp. 34-5) noted his debt to Beames for sorting ou Crewe Works.

Recent developments in locomotive design.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1936,
26, 553-94 + folding plate. 21 illus., 8 diagrs., (Presidential
Address). First Ordinary General Meeting held at the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, on Wednesday, 30 September 1936, at 6 p.m.
Chosen for the development of the locomotive design during recent years,
because to locomotive men, during the last five years, the improvement in
trade and the development of other means of transport had resulted in a general
speeding up on the railways, and there had been a desire to show that the
steam locomotive was not only capable of running heavy trains at a good average
speed, but, given a suitable load, could make as good a showing as the new
light trains with internal combustion engine power units. In addition, there
has been a general desire to increase the average speed of all trains, with
the need of a greater number of fast goods trains.
Specific designs considered included the Schmidt Henschel locomotive of the
German State Railway, the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, Triple Expansion
Engine (with 500 psi boiler); the Winterthur High Pressure Engine; the LMS
Metropolitan-Vickers Lysholm Turbomotive, No. 6202;
the Valve Gear (Outside) fitted to LMS Pacific No. 6203 with needle pin roller
bearings; Baltimore & Ohio locomotive with water tube firebox; a Northern
Pacific 4-8-4 locomotive; Northern Railway of France 2-8-2 tank locomotive;
Pittsburg & West Virginian articulated locomotive; Express Beyer-Garratt
locomotive (for PLM in Algeria); Hiawatha streamlined locomotive, 4-4-2 Type;
Pennsylvania 4-6-2 locomotive; PLM. streamlined locomotive, 4-4-2 Type; Canadian
National streamlined locomotive 4-8-4.; Canadian Pacific Railway streamlined
locomotive, 4-4-4; German 4-6-4 streamlined locomotive; Japanese streamlined
locomotive, 4-6-2 Type.; London and North-Eastern Railway, Cock O
the North, 2-8-2 Type, and 4-6-2 Silver Link. In this paper Stanier
declared his debt to Churchward. In the subsequent vote of thanks Gresley
echoed Stanier's appreciation. Stanier also noted that 'streamlining may
be something like that blessed word "Mesopotamia" to the old lady. At any
rate it has good publicity value.'.A review of world development. Amongst topics covered are the turbine
locomotive, continuous blow-down and the Gresley A4 and P2 classes. It is
in this address that Stanier declares his debt to Churchward.. Stanier also
observed that 'streamlining may be something like that blessed word "Mesopotamia"
to the old lady. At any rate it has good publicity value.'

Some features connected with locomotive development. Rly Gaz., 1943,
78, 368. A note on an address presented to the City & Guilds College
Engineering Society. The paper reviewed basic design considerations.

W.A. Stanier lecture. Loco.
Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1931, 37, 60A comprehensive and interesting lecture was given by Mr. W. A. Stanier,
M.I.Mech.E., Principal Assistant to the Chief Mechanical Engineer, G.W. Ry.,
before the G.W.Ry. (London) Lecture and Debating Society, at Paddington,
on 15 January 1931. Mr. C.E. Lloyd, a director, and also an engineer, occupied
the chair. Mr. Stanier's lecture was illustrated by many lantern slides,
and the various locomotive types introduced by five successive C.M.E.'s were
shown, and their work detailed. Mention was made of the development of the
many types, from the old broad gauge North Star to the present-day
e»press engines, including the "De Glehn" compounds, The Great
Bear, "Castles" and "Kings."

Alcock, J.F. Locomotive limits and fits.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1949,
39, Disc.: 505-8. (Paper No. 487)Sir William Stanier (505-8) noted that locomotive manufacturers in
the United Kingdom had now adopted a universal system which he regarded to
be of great importance. He noted that he had seen Lelean working out the
limits and fits for the Indian Government Railways. He also acknowledged
the work performed in this area at Horwich. He noted that earson, when on
the GWR had encountered troublle with fractures in carriage axles this was
due to moisture getting in where the axles were pressed into the wheel. The
LMS had trouble with crankpins. Stanier himself had been responsible for
the burnishing broach having seen it in the USA in 1927. He observed that
Collett had sought to introduce parallel crankpins and this had led to many
breakages. Also included an extract on press fits from a paper presented
by H.J. Shrader to ASME in 1948.

Barton, H.H.C. New multiple unit rolling stock for India, operational
performance and the electrical equipment.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1952, 42,
70 (Paper No. 509)said that the building of lightweight stock had been very much in
his mind for a number of years. On the LMS in 1938, the Liverpool and Southport
stock had had to be renewed, and he remembered the late Mr. Fairburn saying
that for every ton that could be saved in the weight of the stock, he could
save 210 a year in current. That had been an incentive to get some lightweight
stock.
In the Derby drawing office there had been a very able young designer, Mr.
Moon, who unfortunately died during the war. Mr. Moon had developed a design
(taking advantage of the Vierendeel truss) for some lightweight stock which
had given some very interesting figures. The motor coach seated 88 and weighed
40 ton 5 cwt. The trailer coach seated 102 and weighed 23 ton 2 cwt. Sir
William had been able to give particulars of that construction and the means
used to develop it in a paper which he had prepared for presentation to the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers' Joint Meeting in September, 1939; he had gone over to America
to give the paper, but unfortunately the Conference had been cancelled and
he had come back by the next boat. However, the paper had been printed and
was in existence.
The intention had been that this principle should be developed for main'line
stock, but unfortunately the war had come, and this hampered development.
Sir William emphasised the importance of remembering that weight,was a very
important asset or liability when considering costs. The more lightweight
stock was developed, the better the services that could be given. Lightweight
stock would reduce wear and tear and it would reduce the power required;
and, provided it was possible to look after the corrosion, to which Mr. Cock
had referred, it would produce very much better stock than existed at
present.

Bond, R.C. Ten years' experience with the L.M.S. 4-6-2 non-condensing
turbine locomotive, No.6202. J. Instn
Loco. Engrs, 1946, 36, 182-230. Disc.: 231-65 (Paper No. 458)
Pp. 231-3: Stanier's comments showed his professional modesty: lesser men would
have placed their name on such a paper by a subordinate. He noted his error
in using a low degree of superheating at first on the LMS and how the original
suggestion for a turbine locomotive came from Dr. Guy of Metropolitan
Vickers.

Bond, R.C. Organisation and control of locomotive repairs on British
Railways. J. Instn Loco Engrs., 1953,
43, pages 218-19. (Paper No. 520)Noted Beames' contribution to efficiency at Crewe Works by instigating
the new erecting shop opened in 1924.

Burrows, M.G. and Wallace, A.L. Experience with the steel fireboxes
of the Southern Region Pacific locomotives.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1958,
48, 281-2. (Paper No. 584)Stanier said they would all feel that the Institution was to be
congratulated on obtaining such a valuable Paper, which recorded what had
happened. The experiment of using steel fireboxes had been going on for a
number of years. He recalled that after the First World War the Great Western
Railway had acquired a number of R.O.D. engines with steel fireboxes. These
were, of course, of the narrow type, and when the locomotives arrived at
Swindon the insides of the fireboxes were found to be plastered with welding.
Welding at that time had been known, and quite rightly, as the putting
on tool, and he expected that most of it had been applied on the outside
and had not been Ved out.
Mr. Bulleid had very wisely decided to use steel fireboxes on his Merchant
Navy Class locomotives, which had a wide firebox. It was quite true,
Sir William thought, that the wide firebox was much better suited to the
use of welded seams and tubes. He wondered whether the Authors had found
that the thermic syphons used on these boilers, which undoubtedly had been
a source of considerable work in maintenance and repairs, had improved the
efficiency of the boiler to an extent which justified their application,
or whether, perhaps, a design of firebox giving a little more heating surface
woulcl have been better from the maintenance point of view and would have
given just as good steaming.
Mr. Burrows had stated in presenting the Paper that the size of the stays
given in the advance copy of the Paper was not correct: they were in fact
5/8 in. in the body but 7/8 in. screwing stays. That was very interesting,
because in putting in steel stays in boilers with which Sir William had been
associated they had always made a practice, when they got to 7/8 in., of
cupping the point of the stay on the fire side, so that when riveting it
down the amount of work required was not sufficient to disturb the threads.
He wondered whether the fracture shown in Fig. 17 might have been due to
the excessive amount of work required to put a solid-ended stay down to the
plate.
He would also like to know whether the steel stays had been made of ordinary
mild steel bar or whether a special steel such as Longstrand
had been used. Longstrand steel was made from what the steelmaker
called a dirty steel, i.e. an ingot full of slag inclusions,
which when rolled out gave strings of slag in the longitudinal section of
the stay, so that it looked like wrought iron, and if the stay cracked, instead
of going square across as a mild steel stay did, the crack crept up the body
of the stay and would be found before anything serious happened. When the
Southern Railway started building steel fireboxes they had been in the fortunate
position that radiographic examination had reached a stage when it could
be applied to the seams of boilers. In 1934, when in the U.S.A., Sir William
had seen the Babcock & Wilcox works welding boiler drums and examining
every 18 in. of the seam radiographically, and recording it, to ensure that
the weld was absolutely sound. It was, however, only since the war, he supposed,
that radiographic examination had been introduced to any great extent. Mr.
Bulleid had been very wise to make use of this new technique to ensure that
the welding was sound.
Sir William remembered being concerned with a welded boiler before the First
World War. It was a small boiler, built for 150 lb./sq. in. pressure, and
every seam had been welded, including the seams on the dome. It looked all
right and had been tested hydraulically to about five times its working pressure,
but he did not think that it had ever been steamed. No one had known what
the condition of the welding was inside. X-ray examination now enabled that
to be known.
He had already said that the Institution was fortunate in having a Paper
which showed what had been done, and he would like to conclude by expressing
his personal pleasure at having the opportunity to read the Paper.

Cook, K.J. The late G.J. Churchward's locomotive development on the
Great Western Railway. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1950, 40, 171-2 (Paper No.492)including his observations on
Churchward's County
class.Stanier said that it was with particular pleasure that he had come
to the present meeting to hear a Vice-President, Mr. Cook, tell them something
of the work with which he himself had been mixed up to a certain extent during
its early history. . Mr. Churchward had come to Swindon the year of his own
birth. He had then been Carriage Works Manager and was actively engaged in
developing new things. He had developed the Great Western axle box, which
was recognized as being one of the axle boxes most free from failure. . They
had heard about a number of people who had been associated w,lth Churchward
but one of the principal people who had worked with him was George Burrows-his
son was present at the meeting. He himself, having been in the drawing office
at the time, had seen some of his work. .
He could, .of course; speak at great length about Mr. Churchward, but would
confine himself to referring to one or two points only. Mr. Cook had drawn
attention to the 4-4-0 "County" class engine. Churchward had built that engine
with his tongue in his cheek. He knew the front end was too powerful for
the wheel base. This engine was built for working trains on the Shrewsbury
and Hereford line, which was a joint line with the L. & N.W., and the
L. & N.W. objected at that time to the 4-6-0 "Saint" class working over
it. He was not going to be told what he could do by Webb! Therefore Churchward
built the "County," which had plenty of power to run the service.
Another matter he wished to speak about was the advent of the French erigine;
Churchward had always been very' keen on spotting things that were good.
The French engine had an extraordinarily good bogie and almost from the time
the French engine. started running until the present time the Great Western
bogie had the French spring control on it, as also had a great many L.M.S.
bogies. Then there was also the big end for the inside cylinder on the" King,"
" Castle," and" Coronation" classes, and. on a number of other 4-cylinder
engines, had a French big end for the inside cylinder. He would like to tell
the meeting something of the" old man." After the first world war a deputation
had visited Churchward to tell him of their wishes. Churchward had rather
an autocratic way and used to tell his people what to do. The leader of the
deputation, the district organiser, said, "You know, tIre time has come when
we wish to be asked to do a thing and riot ordered to do it." "D- it all,
it is time the' old man' retired," he replied. When Churchward retired the
workers insisted on making him a presentation. They asked him what he wanted
and intimated that he wanted nothing, and on being pressed he said, "A fishing
rod." So he was presented with one and at his request the rest of the amount
given was devoted to prizes for apprentices who attended the technical college.
At the presentation the Chairman of the Works Committee, having spoken in
glowing terms of how they admired Churchward, wound up his remarks by saying
that he hoped every hair on his head would be a candlelight to glory. Churchward
replied, "Well, there will not be many of them." He was as bald as a coot.
. . As members probably knew,he himself had served his time under Dean but
had worked a11 his active life until 1932 under Churchward. He had a great
regard and affection for his memory. As Mr. Cook had said,'" His soul goes
marching on" That was true because all his engines, which are still of the
most modern type, were built before 1910. Those who had come after Churchward
had tried to follow in his steps ever since.

Cox, E.S. British standard locomotives.J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1951,
41, 287-335. Disc.: 336-403 (Paper No. 502).Pp. 337-8. Congratulated the President and his team for the extraordinarily fine
results they had obtained in their first effort. There were certain things
that might be open to criticism, of course, but they had done a very fine
job. "What a lot we all owe to George Jackson Churchward. He could
assure them that a little accident like water in the cylinders was not new,
and he had seen broken pistons on many occasions. It seemed to him that the
smoke box door was rather too flat. In his experience it was desirable to
make the smoke box doors as stiff as possible so that they would stand being
tightened regularly without distortion and he would have liked to see the
smoke box door of this engine about 2 in. deeper. Since he had left the L.M.S.,
they seemed to have gone in for very expensive coupling rods. He had yet
to learn the reason why. He did not know why it was necessary to flute the
rods on a mixed traffic engine. With regard to the area of the steam passages;
in most cases the area through the superheater was rather less than the area
through the steam pipe. In his opinion this was a weakness of the King class
of the old Great Western. He noticed, too, that the superheater units had
13/8 in. diameter tubes. In his experience, he found that
if superheater tubes were much more than 1 in. outside diameter, the temperature
of the flue gas did not get to the centre of the column of steam passing
through the superheater tube, so that full benefit from the heat passing
through the flue was not obtained. It was possible that one would get better
superheat by using 1 in. tubes. He was glad to see that the engine wheels
had triangular section wheel rims. He had introduced these on the L.M.S.
after seeing them on the German State Railways engines in about 1933 and
they made an excellent wheel. The engine had a first-class boiler and a good
design of cylinders and valve gear, and he thought they could be very proud
of the first engine produced under the new regime and felt sure it would
give excellent service.

Cox, E.S. Locomotive axleboxes J.
Instn Loco. Engrs, 1944, 34, 275-317. Discussion: 317-40:1945,
35, 221-38:1946, 36, 171-6+ 3 folding plates. 21 diagrs., 8
tables. (Paper No. 447).Opened the discusssion (p. 317) noting that there was not a great
deal that he could add to what was contained in the Paper. He had been associated
with the Author in the work which had been done, and the Paper contained
a very clear and complete account of the troubles and experiences which the
L.M.S. Railway had had during the time for which he had been associated with
it so far as locomotive axleboxes were concerned.
The Great Western Railway, in his younger days, built a class of engine known
as the " Badminton " class which had the coupling rod cranks in line with
the inside cranks, and they ran for quite a number of years in that way,
but the ''Atbara" class, a development of the ''Badminton" class, reverted
to the outside crank being opposite to the inside crank.
One of the greatest difficulties which the L.M.S. Railway had experienced
with its modern engines was to keep dust and ashes and water away from the
trailing axlebox of a 4-6-0 engine, which came under the middle of the ashpan.
It was yery difficult to keep the ashes and the water from surrounding and
smothering the axlebox and causing excessive wear, particularly on the boss
face of the wheel and the axlebox face against it and in the horn guide surfaces.
It was found that on the axlebox in that position pegged on bronze liners
were hopeless. It was largely as a result of the experimental work done on
the axlebox in that position that there was evolved the solid bronze liner
on the horn itself, bolted on and retained top and bottom with lugs, and
the hardened steel face on the axlebox. That, however, was only a palliative,
and the position was still one which gave a great deal of trouble. In India
a great deal of trouble was experienced from sand and wear on axleboses,
and a tremendous number of experiments had been carried out with dust shields
of all kinds, but he had not yet learned whether the problem had been solved.
He thought that the problem had still to be solved, and he was happy to think
that the time had come when he was going to watch how other people did it.
He thought that the Institution had been very fortunate in obtaining such
a complete record of experiments carried out over a series of years on what
was a very important problem

Dumas, L. The development of rail motor car services in France.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1938,
28, 458-9. (Paper No. 389)During the past six years, the French Railways had ordered 800 railcars.
Of these, 660 had already been put into service, and 140 were still under
construction. The 660 railcars in operation covered 90,000 miles every day
or 23.5% of the total daily mileage of passenger steam trains in France.
Dicussion: Stanier refered to the three four-wheeled railbuses and to the
then new three car set that conformed more or less to the power-to-weight
ratio of the French steel-tyred railcars. Nevertheless, Stanier ended his
contribution with "?He considered there was no difficulty about building
light railcars if the service was required, but in England it had to be
remembered that the natural fuel, of which there were large supplies, was
coal, and the collieries were very large clients of the railways. He suggested
that it would he almost a tragedy if they were to introduce the Diesel railcar
to any great extent, although he felt that, as had been the experience in
France, there must be certain services where it would be worth while introducing
a vehicle of that type".

Dymond, A.W.J. Operating experience with two
gas turbine locomotives. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1953, 43, 292-3. (Paper No. 521)Sir William Stamer, F.R.S. (Past President) felt that his remarks
would perhaps cover two fields, he having been brought up as a steam man
and now being tarred with the gas turbine brush. The Author, he said, had
put before the Institution a paper which was an extraordinarily able record
of the work which had been done on gas turbine locomotives in this country.
It was factual and the Author had not indulged too much in prophecy, leaving
that to the gas turbine people who were undoubtedly represented in the
audience.It must be remembered that the two locomotives in question had been
conceived six years ago. Much had been learned about gas turbines, their
design and pressures and combustion systems, since that time; but, although
so much had been learned, very little "ironmongery" had yet been made to
prove the techniques which had been developed. The two locomotives described
in the Paper were actual "ironmongery" and had achieved results and that
was important.He felt that those concerned with the gas turbine had to realise that
gas turbines used for traction purposes as locomotives or in lorries, buses
or tanks had to have different features from the gas turbines which were
developed for marine purposes or for stationary power plant. He had always
been struck by the fact that if for the gas turbine one plotted power output
against efficiency (Fig. 10) one obtained a curve of the type shown by the
full line showing the most efficient conditions at about 80 per cent of the
power output. What was wanted for the locomotive was a curve of the type
shown by the dotted line. It might fall off considerably at over 50 per cent
load, but so long as the locomotive would start the train and take it uphill
that was what was wanted, and most of the work would be done in the region
A-B. If the greatest efficiency of the gas turbine was between 25 and 30
per cent load it would be a much more efficient locomotive.The Author did not seem to be quite fair to the steam locomotive in
comparing its fuel consumption with that of the gas turbine. The gas turbine
figures were principally on passenger work, but the figures for coal related
to general railway work, passenger and goods. It would have been a very much
better comparison to take the coal consumption of the" King" link at Old
Oak.A point of interest was that the Western Region seemed to be able
to arrange, when they had experimental units, to confine the working of them
to a comparatively small number of men. On the LMS there had been a steam
turbine locomotive, and, although he had asked the operating side to keep
it to two or three sets of men, it had in fact been worked by twenty in turn.
It was impossible to run an experimental engine in that way, and he thought
that the Western Region were very fortunate in that respect.

Fry, Lawford H.
Modern locomotive practice in Europe and America.
Trans Instn Loco. Engrs., 1913,
3, 41-58. Disc.: 59-73. (Paper No. 16)Stanier (63-4) noted the existence of the Churchward 2-8-0 and 2-8-0T
on the GWR. The leading coupled wheels of the 42XX type had spherical crank
pins and bushes to prove 2½in side play: this enabled the class to operate
over sharp curves at collieries. Stanier noted that the 4-cylinder layout
distributed the working stress "very nicely". Refering to the 43XX he called
the mixed reaffic locomotive the "engine of the future" noting that is was
suitable for working excursion trafic and troop trains.

Gammon, C.A.
Standardisation and design of goods and mineral wagons as applied to British
Railways. J. Instn Loco. Engrs. 1950, 40, 425-65. Disc.: 466-85.
(Paper No. 496)Pp. 467-8): When he was on the Great Western Railway, the late Churchward
built a 40 ton bogie coal wagon, but he found that the tare of the 40 ton-wagon
was greater than the tare of two 20-ton wagons, and it was very restricted
in the places it could serve, and so naturally he built 20-ton wagons. On
the Cornish Riviera Limited they had measured the quantity of oil
placed into the axleboxes, and the sealed boxes were run for eleven months
- care was taken to examine the boxes adjacent to the engine to ensure that
water had not breached the dust shields. Queried the change to oil-hardened
plates from water-hardened: danger of mixing the two.Graff-Baker, W.S. Considerations on bogie design with particular reference
to electric railways. J. Instn Loco
Engrs., 1952, 42, 339-40. (Paper 513)Opened the discussion and sung the praises of the Dean bogie.

Kreissig
The design of light-weight rolling stock.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs. 1950,
40, 41-3(Paper No. 490)Author was Chief Engineer Uerdingen und Dusseldorg Carriage Companies.
Discussion:
Stanier (51) took exception to Mr. Agnew's references to the resistance of
past C.M.E.s to the introduction of steel passenger stock. He personally
had been responsible for the construction of light-weight steel stock in
about 1936, and as Mr. Agnew might know, the new Liverpool and Southport
stock had saved a considerable amount of weight. He felt bound to say he
had been inspired very largely by a statement made by the late Mr. Fairburn,
who had claimed that for every ton which Sir William might save on the coach
he (Mr. Fairburn) could save ten pounds a year on current.
An effort had been made at Derby to enable them to use light steel sections
and all-steel skin stressed construction, but he thought Mr. Agnew had overlooked
the fact that the operating department always demanded the type of compartment
construction with doors all along the side, and that was a very great handicap
to stressed skin construction. If they could have rolling stock such as they
had on the tube railways it would be easy, but to design stressed skin stock
for ordinary main lines was a problem.
At the same time he was full in agreement with Herr Kreissig when he advocated
the reduction of weight in their stock. He did not think they had made sufficient
study of the springing of lightweight vehicles, and he was quite sure that
it meant very careful analysis of the movements that would take place and
the power that was to be transmitted to get the correct springing to put
it right, but he certainly did not think it was impossible. About three years
previously he had been in Switzerland and had seen some of the new bogies
that they were using on their electric locomotives. He had never experienced
such good riding over such a curving road and at the speed at which they
could take the curves. The bogie was an entirely unconventional type: it
had no horn cheeks, it had radius bars and torsion bar control and coil springs
on each side of the axlebox, with oil dampers, and it gave the most excellent
riding.
Another point in the Author's Paper in which he had been very interested
was the reference to the damage to the life of the springs if there was the
slightest mark on the surface. One of the big problems facing the railways
was how to prevent corrosion between the leaves of a spring. On the old L.M.S.
line they had conducted many experiments in using spring leaves that were
ground and polished, but after they had been out for a month or so they were
corroded between the leaves and were just as bad. He did not know whether
the Author could suggest any means of preventing that corrosion from getting
in between the leaves. Coil springs, again, had a very much longer life if
one could use polished bar and prevent any damage to the surface. On all
high-grade motor cars and on many other vehicles, very great pains were taken
to get very highly polished springs for both petrol engines and diesel engines,
and he thought one of their biggest headaches in running rolling stock would
be removed if they could get a much longer life out of their springs.
He did not know whether Herr Kreissig was familiar with the Paper for which
he personally had been responsible in 1939, on  Light-Weight Passenger
Stock, which was a description of a design which had been got out by
the L.M.S., largely for the new stock of the Liverpol and Southport line.
There they had adopted light pressed centre girders and used very light pressed
sections, and they had reduced the weight on the trailer cars by eight or
nine tons and on the motor cars by somewhere about seven tons, but they had
not gone to the refinements that Herr Kreissig had shown in his

Loubser, M.M. and Cox, E.S. Locomotive boiler design: theory and practice.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1938,
28, 377-409. Disc.: 409-41. (Paper No. 388)Fourth Ordinary General Meeting of the Session 1937-38, was held at
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, on Wednesday, 26 January,
1938, at 6 p.m., Lt.-Col. F. R. Collins, President of the Institution, occupying
the chair.
This Paper was unusual in that it was the work of two authors who. had not
been able ta work in collaboration. The basis was a treatise on the theory
of the locomotive which had been prepared by M.M. Loubser, Assistant CME
on the South African Railways. This was delivered to the Institution in a
condensed form covering the whole locomotive. The second author was requested
to deal only with that part covering boiler and smokebox and to expand this
into a self-contained Paper. At the same time, it was desired to amplify
the original content to cover British practice with some reference to the
considerations which influence British boiler design. To achieve this it
has been necessary in places to depart from Loubsers text and to add
sections not contained in the original communication, while to make the Paper
more readable, the actual working out of mathematical formulae is incorporated
in the appendices. Due to the short time available and the distance separating
thr authors, no form of collaboration has been possible, and the second author
hopes that in spite of his editing and amplification he has been able to
convey to the Institution the spirit and substance of Mr. Loubsers
original communication. The object of the Paper is to summarise in simple
terms the fundamental considerations covering boiler design and to illustrate
their application with reference to some modern designs. The boiler is dependent
for its draught on the vacuum created and maintained in the smokebox by the
exhaust steam, and insignificant as this fact might appear at first sight,
yet the whole performance of the boiler is governed by the overall effectiveness
of this process. The theory of the boiler, more especially the combustion
and transfer
Cox's contribution consists of an analysis of the Stanier taper-boiler with
particular emphasis on the four types fitted to the Jubilee class.
Stanier (pp.410-11) adds some notes on the front-end. "I should like to take
this opportunity of saying how well I think Mr. Cox has reviewed Mr.
Loubsers Paper. I had an opportunity of looking through Mr. Loubsers
Paper, and the two sections which Mr. Cox has taken cover very well the essential
matter of that Paper, and the linking of it up with English practice is,
1 think, most helpful to members of the Institution. In that connection,
there is one thing which has always puzzled me. Reference is made in th.is
Paper to the relationship of the diameter of the blast pipe given by the
formula on page 396 and the actual diameter of blast pipe used on the engine.
There is a striking difference between them, and what has always puzzled
me is that a 3-cylinder engine always seems to require a smaller blast-pipe
top than one would expect to put on an engine of that power. One of the possible
solutinns, of course, is that with a 3-cylinder engine there is not the same
volume of steam coming through the blast pipe per pulsation, and it may be
that the formula for a 0-cylinder engine should take that into consideration.
It is a fact that so far as the locomotives of the L.M.S. Railway are concerned,
the 3-cylinder engines generally require a smaller blast pipe than would
be expected for their power. The 2-cylinder and the 4-cylinder engines, it
will be noticed from Table IV, come very much closer to the diameter given
by the formula which Mr. Loubser puts forward.
In discussing the problcm of design of the boiler, it is interesting to find
that Mr. Loubser does not dwell entirely on the importance of the smokebox
arrangenicnt and the vacuum in the smokebox ; he does link it up with the
grate area and the How of gases through the boiler, and indicates quite clearly
that the whole of the factors in the design of the boiler have to be in balance
if a satisfactorily steaming boiler is to be obtained.
I suppose that one of thc advantages of a steam locomotive over any other
power unit is the fact that it can work at such a wide range. The particular
engines which Mr. Cox has described, the 3-cylinder 4-6-0 engines, on tests,
working trains under the control of a dynamometer, have burned from 301b.
per sq. ft of grate per hour up to nearly 100lb. per sq. ft. of grate per
hour perfectly satisfactorily. The only factor seems to be the ability of
the fireman to put the coal on. The wide range over which steam locomotive5
can be used is one of the advantages of using that type of power. The engine
developed something like 1,800 h.p. when burning nearly 100lbs. per sq. ft.
grate area per hour, so that it can be seen that the boiler h.p. is even
more important than the engine h.p. if the engine is to do the work.

Lund, G.H.K. Railway breakdown and rerailing equipment.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1950,
40, 270-1. (Paper No. 493) pp 270-1: Stanier observed that 12 ton cranes were the highest capacity
when he first had to deal with problem. Hydraulic jacks had assisted. In
1910 36 ton capacity cranes became available: a Ransomes & Rapier machine
at Swindon and a Stothert & Pitt crane at Old Oak Common. In 1927 when
in the USA he had come across the Lidgerwood steam winch.

Lynes, L. and Shephard, C.A.
Southern Railway all-steel suburban electric stock. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1948, 38, 205-38. Disc. 238-57. 24 diagrs. (Paper No. 474)
Stanier (238-9) commented on the transmission losses with
electricity, and the many other reductions that it was necessary to make.
He thought that the Paper showed the trend of coach design in this country,
and that they were gradually getting towards all-steel stock. He supported
C.M. Cock's remarks about the saving in coal per ton of reduction of coach
weight. Mr. Fairburn said some years ago that if it were possible to save
a ton per coach he could save a year in the cost of current, which would,
be a very important saving~to make. As a result, the LMS Railway built the
comparatively light weight stock of the Liverpool. and Southport and Wirral
railways. The Paper showed the trend of British railways towards all-steel
stock, but Stanier thought that the weight of the stock was still far too
heavy. The weight per coach of the stock described in the Paper was something
like 35 tons, 142 tons for four coaches. If he remembered rightly, the Liverpool
and Southport trailer coach weighed 22-25tons.Mr.
L. Lynes intervened to point out that in the 4-coach units
described in the Paper the weight was 43 tons for the motor coach and 28
tons for the trailer coach; the motor bogies were heavy.

Sir William Stanier observed that even 28 tons for the trailer coach
was heavier than the Liverpool and Southport stock.. He thought that the
designers of new coaches ought seriously to consider how they could face
the risk of corrosion and yet cut down the weight. The great problem with
all-steel coaches was corrosion, and it required a very careful technique
and proper ventilation between the panelling and the outside sheeting of
the coach to avoid condensation forming. He believed that the British railways
had realised the importance of this. He did not suggest that that was due
to the recent revolution; he thought that it started some years ago. The
time was getting nearer when they would have all-steel stock and be able
to reduce the weight, and he looked forward to it.

McClean, H.G. The hammer-blow with axle-hung electric traction motors.
. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1938,
28, 186. (Paper No. 382)Third Ordinary General Meeting of the Session 1937-38 held at the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, on Wednesday, 24 November 1937,
at 6 p.m., Lieut.-Col. F.R. Collins, President occupying the Chair.
Experience in India. Discussion: Stanier said it was rather news to him that
in electric traction hammer-blow occurs, but thought perhaps he had been
thinking rather in terms of a steam locomotive, where they had to Iialance
the hammer-blow of reciprocating masses rather than the hammer-blow from
which the track might suffer due to unsprung weight. He said the Paper was
full of very complex formulae, and when they heard that electric trains of
high speed with nose-suspended motors were very damaging to the track, he
wondered whether these formulae really served any useful purpose.
He had seen designs of electric locomotives, largely on the Continent, where
they went in for all sorts of elaborate arrangements of rods, so that the
electric drive could be on a spring-borne portion of the chassis. One of
the most interesting that he had seen was the type of electric locomotive
used in Sweden, where they seemed to have overcome the difficulty of having
a complex triangular connecting rod by putting the drive exactly on the axle
centre and having the coupling rod extended through the jack-shaft pin, so
that they get a straight drive. He did not know whether anyone could tell
them whether the Swedish electric railways ran at high speeds of over 70
m.p.h. If they did, he though it would he very interesting to know whether
that type of locomotive was so destructive to the track or so uncomfortable
to the passengers as the electric vehicles with the drive that the Author
has so clearly set out in his Paper.

Moon, A.N. Welded carriage underframes on the L.M.S. Railway.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1947,
37, 374.Related that Fairburn had suggested to him that if they could save
a ton in weight of a vehicle it would be possible to save £10 a year
on [electric] current.

It is the responsibility of the chief mechanical engineer to supply
engines of the correct type to meet the requirements of the chief operating
manager, and of the chief operating manager to allocate those engines so
that the correct type of engine will be used to do the work required, and
it is the superintendent of motive power's duty to see that these engines
are maintained in good mechanical condition to work the trains, manned by
well-trained and responsible enginemen at the time they are required.

When the Author refers to the method of washing out of boilers, he
indicates that a pressure and quantity regulating valve is introduced between
the hydrant pipe, etc., but he has not told us of the original difficulties
experienced when it was found that the water pressure varied between wide
limits at different sheds, and that the first essential was to ensure that
the amount of water for cooling down the boiler was kept constant to ensure
that a steady falling temperature was maintained. To do this it was found
necessary to introduce a reducing valve between the hydrant and the control
valve, so that the amount of water delivered for each position of the control
valve was maintaind at a reasonably constant quantity. This is important
when the cooling down of boilers working at high pressure is required.

As the late chief mechanical engineer of the LMS I would like to support
wholeheartedly the excellent organisation under the "X" scheme and the standard
mileage and periodical examinitions carried out by the motive power department,
as I am sure It is largely due to that carefully planned organisation that
the availability of the LMS engines is so good.

Under "hot bearings" the Author refers to. the importance of keeping
dirt away from the journal. In my experience, provided sufficient oil is
available, dirt does not in itself give a hot box but it does cut the journal
and wear it away, and it is most desirable to provide means for keeping all
dirt away from running surfaces, if possible.

I should like again to refer to the very happy relations that exist
between the chief mechanical engineer's staff and the motive power
superintendent's staff on the LMS and to re-assert the importance of correct
personaliti,es to ensure the satisfactory working of any scheme.Thompson, J.W. The taper boiler.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1936,
26, 764. (Paper 361)Unfortunately I have to leave to attend another meeting, but before
I go you might like to have some expression of opinion from me with regard
to the taper boiler, because 1 have been perpetrating taper boilers for some
time. The Author illustrates this very clearly in Plate 27.
By tapering the big ring of the boiler, you obtain additional steam space,
and, taking the other end on view you obtain an increased water-line for
the steam to come off. Other advantages of the taper boiler are that at the
front end, where you are often tied up for excessive weight, you can keep
the weight down to within reasonable limits, and also, when the locomotive
is going downhill, the water is kept on the crownplate of the firebox. Those
are some of the points about the taper boiler which seem to me to make it
desirable.
The Author has stated that the manufacturing difficulties are very easily
overcome, and in fact the LMS works Crewe, have had no difficulty whatever
in manufacturing taper boilers in just as satisfactory a way as other works.

Warder. S.B. Electric traction prospects for British Railways.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1951,
41, 34. (Paper 498)said that the Institution was to be congratulated on the paper, which
carried a very important stage further the records in its possession. He
wondered however if the Author had been adventurous enough in his
prognostications. Personally, he had seen schemes which enabled a gas turbine
power unit to be designed which would give 40 per cent. thermal efficiency,
while the Author talked about 16 per cent. It might be, therefore, that by
the time the Author could get his electric power the gas turbine would have
shown him the way to run trains. Mr. Hopkins suggested that Diesel-electric
power might be the solution, but there it was necessary to use oil, which
was not indigenous to this country. It might be said that gas turbines were
using oil. They were doing so at present, but schemes were in hand to enable
an attempt, at any rate, to be made to use coal, either by producer or
pulverised, and there was no knowing what would happen in the next few years.
Reference had been made to the density of traffic and to the great savings
which there would be if the main lines to the north of this country were
electrified. What about the freight trains? The density of traffic on the
main lines was very largely due to the large freight service. A freight train
could be run only as fast as the engine would stop it, which meant that one
might have a freight train toddling along at 25 m.p.h., with a fast passenger
train behind it wanting to run at 80 m.p.h., but the section was not clear,
and it would not be clear for the electric train either if freight trains
were still designed and run as at present. He was sure that the President
had seriously in mind what he was to do with regard to freight traffic. Automatic
couplers and power brakes were essential. Sir William said that he was glad
to see the suggestion in the paper that if there were an automatic coupler
it should include the brake pipe, the electric gear and so on, so that there
would be no need for a man to get underneath to connect the brake pipes,
etc. It was to be hoped that the Author would find a coupler which would
do that. There was one for trams, but he had never seen one yet for
railways.

Webber, A.F. (Paper No. 378).The proportions of locomotive boilers. J.
Instn Loco. Engrs., 1937, 27, 688-725. Disc.: 726-63. 8 diagrs.,
8 tables. Bibliog. Stanier: (pp726-8) stated that he had enjoyed very much the analysis
which the Author has made of our boiler problem; it has been, he thought,
more complete than most of the analyses seen. As he has indicated, he has
perhaps not given due weight to the firebox volume, but he has gone a long
way towards endeavouring to evaluate the various bailer propartions which
have been used on the engines of comparatively recent times.

It may be of some interest if I give an indication af the free areas
in use on the present L.M.S. engines. As you know, Dr. Wagner indicated the
importance of getting in balance the areas through the small tubes and the
areas through the large flue tubes. On the Pacific" Coronation" engine the
area through the small tubes is 3.23 sq. ft. and through the large tubes
3.66 sq. ft., making a total of 6.89 sq., ft. On the "5X" 3-cylinder engines
the figures are 2.22 sq. ft. and 2.52 sq. ft., making a total of 4.74 sq.
ft.

You will remember that in his Paper Dr. Wagner gave particulars of
a boiler which had a free area through the tubes of something like 8 sq.
ft. The comment of a member of my staff was that that engine would burn
brickbats!

The difficulty is, of course, to obtain the free areas which you want
and to maintain a balance with the grate area and the firebox volume within
the load gauge from which we suffer in England.

In connection with the "5X" engines, it may interest yau to know that
the L.M.S. have recently carried out some accelerated train trials between
Glasgow and Leeds and Leeds and Bristol with "5X" engines. With a train weighing
300 tons, the coal consumption on that engine to do the work varied from
40 lb. per sq. ft. af grate area per hour to 100 lb. per sq. ft. of grate
area per hour, which I think indicates what an extraordinarily flexible
steam-raiser a locomotive boiler is. I do not advocate an engine being used
to burn l00 lb. per sq. ft. of grate area per hour; I think that if we did
that with some of the bigger engines we should have to put in a mechanical
stoker.

The Author has referred to smokebox vacuum. It may be of interest
to mention that the vacuum in the smokebox of the L.M.S. turbine locomotive
with one nozzle open is just over 1 in. of water, and with two nozzles it
is 2 in., so that with the maximum number of nozzles open it is 6 in.

The engine steams quite well on the fast trains between Liverpool
and Euston of something like 500 tons weight. It seems to me that that is
a comparatively low vacuum in the smokebox for a big boiler, when account
is taken of the vacuum which the French engines are obtaining with the Kylchap
blast pipe, and one of the investigations which I think that every locomotive
superintendent within my memory has carried out is an investigation to endeavour
to improve the vacuum in the smakebax withaut increasing, and in fact decreasing,
the back pressure in the cylinders.

When I was in the drawing office, there was a drawer full of experiments
which had been carried out in connection with blast pipes and smokebox
arrangements, and I am sure that in the. drawing office which I now control
there are similar quantities af experiments, but I do not think that even
yet we have determined what is the most efficient arrangement.

The Author has referred to sinuous tubes. One af the difficulties
in a locomotive is to keep the tubes clean, and there are quite enough
difficulties at present in keeping a flue tube with a superheater element
in it clean af smokebox ash and soot. The old dodge af the driver of putting
a little sand on a shovel and putting it in the firehole door to scour the
tubes has been developed an the L.M.S. and some other railways by introducing
sand guns for this purpose. Wechmann Electrification of long-distance lines of the German State
Rlys. J. Instn Loco Engrs, 1938,
28. 522. (Paper No. 391)said he found one paragraph in it which was very comforting, namely,
where the Author said " With all the advantages of electric traction, it
cannot be said that the steam locomotive, in some form, will ever be replaced,
at least in countries having rich coalfields." On the other hand, he thought
the fact that as the Institution was an Institution of Locomotive Engineers
and not of steam locomotive engineers was all to the good, because one could
not help feeling that the developments which were taking place and the fact
that electrical engineers were at last getting down to a common multiple,
so to speak, for the way in which the power could be used, meant that that
Institution had to consider electric traction as well as steam traction.
The Paper which they had just heard, showing what had been done in Germany
in that regard, was a very interesting and a very useful contribution to
the Proceedings of the Institution.

Sir William Stanier, F.R.S. (P.P.) said that
the building of lightweight stock had been very much in his mind for a number
of years. On the L.M.S. in 1938. the Liverpool and Southport stock
had had to be renewed, and he remembered the late Mr. Fairburn saying that
for every ton that could be saved in the weight of the stock, he could save
£10 a year in current. That had be an incentive to get some lightweight
stock.
Inthe Derby drawing office there had been a very able young designer,
Mr. Moon, who unfortunately died during the war. Mr Moon had developed a
design (taking advantage of the Vienendeel truss') for some lightweight stock
which had given some very interesting figures. The motor coach seated 88
and weighed 40 ton 5 cwt. The trailer coach seated 102 and weighed 25 ton
2 cwt. Sir William had been able to give particulars of that construction
and the means used to develop it in a paper which he had prepared for
presentation to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers' Joint Meeting in September 1939; he had gone over
to America to give the paper, but unfortunately the conference had been cancelled
and he had come back by the next boat. However, the paper had been pnnted
and was in existence.
The intention had been that this principle should be developed for main line
stock, but unfortunately the war had come, and this hampered development.
Sir William emphasised the importance of remembering that weight was a very
important asset or liability when considering costs. The more lightweight
stock was developed, the better the services that could be given. Lightweight
stock would reduce wear and tear and It would reduce the power required;
and, provided it was possible to lookafter the corrosion, to which
Mr. Cock had referred, it would produce very much better stock than existed
at present.

Riddles comments taken from
H.C.B. Rogers: The last steam
locomotive engineer (biography of Riddles):
He trusted everybody and his one fault, it is could be called a fault, was
a lack of political acumen, and he could never imagine any intrigue against
him. But we would talk of such matters and I think that I helped him to a
certain extent. I suppose, having experienced first the Lancashire and Yorkshire
taking over the London and North Western, and then the Midland taking over
the lot, and the intrigue which resulted, I had developed a suspicious mind.
I remember him returning from a meeting and saying, "They won't have it,
Robert". The matter concerned was fundamental to his position, and I felt
that ifhe gave way he would be surrendering a right inherent to the CME.
I talked to the great man, explaining what I meant, whilst he listened staring
down at his desk without saying anything. In due course we went home- I not
knowing whether he agreed with me or not. In the morning he called me in
and said, "It's all right, Robert, they've now agreed". This incident is
worth mentioning as an indication of his great character. He never praised
anybody for anything; good results he expected. On the other hand he could
be cutting in his criticism. But he appreciated his staff, and as I got to
know him better I realized that it was not what he said, but the tone of
his voice which gave the clue to his feelings. I came to know him so well
that I could tell from his face whether it was wise to say anything or nothing,
and no man could have had a kinder or more understanding chief. Of course,
as in the case of any person holding high position, there were those who
did not entirely agree with his views, but he was regarded with appreciation
and affection by all who came in contact with him, not only in Great Britain,
but in India, America, and Canada. On one occasion in Canada he was addressing
the Standards Committee and he told them that he had first heard of Standards
when, as a young man, he received complaints from the Operations Department
(Passengers) about the size of the hole in the lavatory seats. Stanier went
off to the Joiners' Shop to investigate and was met by the foreman who said,
"They are absolutely standard size, Sir," and, removing his bowler hat, he
fitted it upside down into the hole!'I became very close to the Stanier family and frequently visited
Newburn, Rickmansworth (their home which was named after Churchward's house
at Swindon) and they, too, were often at my home in Watford. In addition
we met often on holidays in Scotland and Cornwall. Stanier was a great lover
of Rudyard Kipling, and when he was not reading technical articles Rudyard
Kipling came to his rescue. He was always reading and seldom, if ever, went
out to such entertainments as the theatre or cinema. Indeed his "entertainments"
were almost confined to meetings of the "Mechanicals", to which he was devoted,
and he would delight in discussing technical problems at any
time.'In his latter days I visited him as much as I could, and invariably
telephoned him when I went to London. I happened to telephone early on the
morning he died (September 27, 1965), and his daughter told me that they
had just found him. I took the first train and saw myoId chief for the last
time, lying peacefully at rest. I felt that it was a great prfvilege to be
there at that time to do what I could to ease the burdens on his
family.

For obvious reasons this is based on
Chacksfield and certainly not
on Westwood which contains several errors. It is also aware of O.S. Nock's
ODNB entry which was revised by Ralph
Harrington, but the FRS Memoir has not been studied. Willliam Arthur Stanier
was born in Swindon on 27 May 1876. His father worked for the Great Western
Railway as William Dean's Chief Clerk and had moved with him to Swindon from
Wolverhampton. His mother Grace was the daughter of Robert Ball of Southport.
K.J. Cook called his father a "very astute and energetic businesss man" who
was Stores Superintendent. The subject was the eldest child and was educated
at Swindon High School and Wycliffe College, near Stroud for one
year. His brothers enjoyed longer periods at this private school. He
started work as an office boy on the Great Western Railway, and at the age
of 16 he became an apprentice, starting in the carriage works and moving
to the locomotive works in 1892. He was an excellent sportsman.

On 1 November 1897 he entered the Drawing Office. On 1 July 1901 he
beame an Associate Member of the Mechanicals, and in September of the same
year he became Mechanical Inspector at Swindon locomotive depot, rising to
Assistant Divisional Locomotive Superintent at Swindon and then at Westbourne
Park where he became involved in mutual improvemnt classes for the enginemen.
At this time he was courting Ella Elizabeth (Nelle) Morse. On 4 July 1906
Stanier married Ella Elizabeth (1876/18771957), daughter of L.L. Morse;
they had a son and a daughter. In April 1906 he became an Assistant to the
Works Manager in Swindon. In 1908 he became a full Member of the Mechanicals
and was appointed Divisional Superintendent at Swindon locomotive depot.
Peck refers to Stanier being sent to America
and on return introduced the outside steam pipe to Churchward's designs through
the drawings of Bill Pellow. In 1912 he became
(Senior) Assistant Locomotive Works Manager under Collett and became Works
Manager in 1920. Chacksfield suggests that Stanier was responsible for
Churchward's switch to outside steam pipes, introduced on the 47xx class.
When Churchward retired and Collett became the Chief Mechanical Engineer
Stanier was promoted in parallel as his deputy.

Cook notes that Stanier travelled with King George V to the
Fair of the Iron Horse at the invitation of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
in 1927. Stanier described this visit to the
Institution of Mechanical
Engineers.

At this stage it is worth noting that although Stanier lacked some
of the wider experience which had been gained by some of his contemporaries,
notably Gresley (who had been apprenticed on the LNWR under Webb, prior to
moving to the L&YR and GNR), Stanier had a very broad experience of Great
Western locomotives in operation, and under construction.

Following meetings with Sir Harold Hartley, one of the LMS
Vice-Presidents, in 1931 (including lunch at the Athenaeum, home to bishops
and scientists), in 1932 he became chief mechanical engineer of Britain's
largest railway, the London, Midland & Scottish Railway.
Terry Jenkins's biography of Ernest
Lemon adds considerably to the story of Stanier's transition from Swindon
to the LMS. H.A.V. Bulleid's Master builders
of steam(p. 143) shows that Stanier had problems with the
extremely able Chief Draughtsman, Herbert Chambers, who was "an excellent
and experienced designer, noted for his heroic and successful effort in
coordinating (against time) the design work between Derby Loco Drawing Office
and the North British Locomotive Co. on the Royal Scot, but a
dyed-in-the-wool Midland man. He argued with Stanier about all those innovations
which he could not readily accept. At one point during these difficult weeks,
rather lonely among Midland doubts, Stanier tried to get S.O. Ell from the
G.W.R. to come as an Assistant on experimental work; but Collett refused
to release him. A good Chief and a good Assistant both know that a nice balance
between querying orders and blindly following them is essential, but Stanier
and Chambers were unable to find this balance with Chambers as Chief Draughtsman.
Stanier, therefore, switched him to be Technical Assistant at Euston and
appointed Tom Coleman to be Chief Draughtsman in charge of both Derby and
Crewe Loco Drawing Offices, resident at Derby. Coleman came from Horwich;
where the air was distinctly less parochial, and had previously worked with
H. G. Ivatt at Stoke. He was a hard worker and shared Stanier's dislike of
frills. Stanier got along excellently with him, considered him eminently
sound and practical rather than theoretical, ready to incorporate all the
new ideas, and not too ready to query points differing from previous practice.
Chambers may incidentally have done quite a bit of softening-up: Derby had
some first-class design techniques and these did not always require modification
by what was sometimes rudely referred to as "Wiltshire wisdom." Coleman also
had a decided artistic bent which Stanier admired and which contributed to
the apparently effortlessly balanced appearance of the many Stanier locomotive
types.

His new designs notably the Jubilee class were not problem-free
as Swindon ideas did not combine well with the LMS three-cylinder layout
as developed for the Royal Scot class, and Stanier's Pacifics retained the
Great Western's four-cylinder layout. Stanier's other three-cylinder design,
the 2-6-4Ts for the LTSR section followed Gresley practice but with three
sets of valve gear. Chacksfield states that this was to provide rapid
acceleration, but may have been to limit hammer blow on the stretch of line
into Fenchurch Street owned by the LNER. Rutherford is highly illuminating
on the Jubilee debacle and further comment on this is made by Pearson.

Chacksfield suggests that the class 5 may have owed something to the
LSWR H15 as the design for the class 5 partially involved the Vulcan Foundry
where the Chief Draughsman, Finlayson, was the brother of Findlayson of the
LSWR/SR. at Eastleigh. which ranged from the streamlined Coronation 4-6-2
through his very numerous mixed . traffic two-cylinder 4-6-0 to his equally
successful 8F freight 2-8-0, were characterized by such Great Western features
as taper boilers, long travel valves, improved Churchward axleboxes, and
de Glehn bogies. When he retired in 1944 it was clear that he was the most
successful and influential British locomotive engineer of his time. In 1938
he went to India with the special committee examining the derailment-prone
standard Pacifics of the Indian railways and, perhaps primed by his own research
into the riding qualities of 4-6-2 machines, was able to diagnose excessive
freedom of lateral movement in the leading bogie and trailing truck. Later
Stanier returned to India on a Machine Tool Mission and took
Jarvis with him Chacksfield's biography of Jarvis describes
this visit in detail. Towards the end of his career he was knighted,
became a Fellow of the Royal Society (a great honour for an engineer), and
was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Jarvis considered
Stanier a hard, but fair taskmaster and on page 72 of Chacksfield's book
he noted that Stanier had "big driving wheels" and walked very
quickly.Nock, O.S. Railway enthusuast's
encyclopedia

The ODNB biography notes that "As a chief engineering executive Stanier's
charming personality, technical skill, ability to get on with colleagues,
and aptitude for team building, quickly brought him a reputation far beyond
the railway world." This led him to important consultancies. In October 1936,
with Sir Ralph Wedgwood, chief general manager of the London and North Eastern
Railway, he was invited by the government of India to examine the position
of the Indian state-owned railways; and in July 1938 he was appointed member
of a committee of inquiry into the causes of a serious accident on the East
Indian Railway. At home he was president of the Institution of Locomotive
Engineers for the session 19367, and again in 19389. The outbreak
of war in September 1939 led to the postponement of further promising
developments on the LMS, but in October 1941 Stanier delivered his presidential
address to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The war led to a great
increase in his responsibilities on the LMS, but in 1942 he was seconded
to the Ministry of Production to form one of a team of three full-time scientific
advisers. That he could leave the LMS at such a time was a great tribute
to the team he had built up since his appointment in 1932. In February 1943
he was knighted. In the latter stages of the war, although he was then well
beyond normal retirement age, his services were still in great demand. He
became chairman of Power Jets Limited, a government-owned firm for the
development of jet propulsion techniques, and was on the boards of several
other companies.

Nock (pages 201-2
British locomotives of the
20th century. Vol. 1) records a conversation which is said to have
taken place between Edward Thompson and Stanier in which Thompson is claimed
to have stated that he intended to rebuild the Gresley Pacifics with Stephenson
link motion for the inside cylinders which horrified Stanier who responded
that the LMS had to scrap the Caledonian Railway 4-6-0s which had been
constructed with this strange arangement.

On page 84 of his book Larkin noted
that W.A. Stanier was a very likeable and much respected engineer. He will
probably be best remembered for his renowned Pacifics. In 1939 Larkin was
involved in production planning for new construction.

Rutherford (BackTrack, 18
172), possibly incorrectly implies that Stanier had
less interest in non-steam traction and quotes the following via Chacksfield:
There is a good anecdote about Stanier and steam. On a visit to the Pennsylvania
Railroad in the USA in 1936, he was out on the line with a team measuring
track stresses due to flange contact at speed (the LMS had plans to speed
up certain express schedules). A number of electric trains went by, then
a train appeared hauled by a K4 Pacific and everyone stood back in admiration
as it went past. Stanier then remarked, "There you are, nobody cares a damn
for your tin boxes!". Chacksfield's
excellent biography of Ron Jarvis (pp. 37-45) mentions his subject's
involvement in the diesel railcar project with Tommy Hornbuckle and makes
it clear that Stanier was closely involved to ensure that it was lightweight
and was interested in the unit's potential for high speed.

Anecdotes. etcArthur Pearson Man of the rail
stated: One afternoon in November, 1964, I sat with
Sir William Stanier on the sun porch of his bungalow, Newburn, at
Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. Apart from a touch of arthritis in his hip
and a slight impediment in his speech which one forgot as soon as we got
talking, he looked remarkably fit and was very alert mentally. Tall, a strong
face, iron-grey moustache, an impressive personality, he was eighty-eight
and he had joined the service of the Great Western Railway just in time to
see the last of the broad gauge converted. This was the second house Stanier
had called Newburn, after the name of the official C.M.E.'s house
at Swindon. The first of Stanier's Newburn's, a much bigger place,
was further north along the same road at Chorley Wood, Hertfordshire, where
I used to visit him in the 1930s and during the second world war, when his
wife was alive, and he used to supply me with beautiful dessert apples from
his orchard. As we sat on his sun porch, we talked about railway chief mechanical
engineers and the development of railway mechanical engineering in its various
forms during the first half of the twentieth century. We also talked about
experiences at Euston. Ever since I first met Stanier, Churchward's name
had invariably cropped up somewhere in the conversation.

The LAST steam locomotive built by British Railways: naming ceremony of class
"9" 2-10-0 locomotive No. 92220 'Evening Star" at Swindon, 18th March, 1960.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1959/60,
49, 597-9. illus.Hanks in his address noted that Stanier was "quite agelessknown
in my days here as the Black Arrow"

Cox (Locomotive panorama volume 2)
who was a member of the Pacific Locomotive Committee observed
that "Stanier with his urbane manner and human tolerance exerted his influence
towards peace and he was greatly respected by all sides.

Langridge, E.A. Under ten
CMEs. 2011. p. 149Stanier had a pleasant manner, a soft West Country 'burr', very different
from the northern sharp vowels, deep-set eyes slightly close together, a
keen look that could be determined if required. Later I came to the conclusion
that he was no designer as such, but then, how many CMEs were?

I recall being present on the 3-car train when it was inspected by
various chief officers, including W.A.S. and E.J.H. Lemon, then Vice-President.
Some point was raised when W.A.S. was a little distance from the others,
and Lemon whistled him up and called, 'Stanier, come 'ere'. He went like
a lamb. I couldn't help remarking to one of the smaller fry with me there:
'How would you like to be able to whistle up the CME like that?'

Head. Ken. Memories of Uncle
Will. Steam Wld, 2005 (217) 62-4.Anecdotes: Dr Margaret Stanier relates how Sir William made a very
small spanner for her watch before she set out for Africa and how he responded
to his brother, Charles's sons playing with their live steam train set. Jean
Velecky, another neice realtes how she was entertained by her Uncle on his
special train when he was inspecting German railway workshops in 1946. She
also had the dubious pleasure of driving Sir William's Cortina in
the presence of the great man.Marsh, Phil. Stanier did not like streamlined locos! Rly Mag.,
2006, 152 (1258) 27-9.Meeting with Jean Velecky, Stanier's niece on the Mid-Hants Railway.
Marsh implies that Velecky had been a fellow student of Harold Hartley: this
is clearly impossible as Jean did not graduate until 1950. Claims that Stanier's
favourite locomotive was the class 5 4-6-0. He also disliked streamlining.
Illustrations include Jean Veleck, Jean Stanier and Sir William at home in
Rickmansworth in 1963 (colour) and William aged 12 in 1888 in group family
photograph. Jean Velecky is also shown at Ropley on the Mid-Hants
Railway.

The above photograph from Steel's The
miniature world of Henry Greenly page 160 claims to show Greenly
(second from left of picture) standing next to William Stanier (LMSR) with
locomotive engineers at Dalegarth on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.
Clearly, Stanier was still on the GWR at that time. It might be Sir Henry
Fowler to the right of him, but who were the others, and why (if it was)
Stanier in the Lake District?